Log In and Activate Parallels RAS

You administer Parallels Remote Application Server from the Parallels RAS Console. After you've installed Parallels RAS, you need to run the console and activate your new Parallels RAS farm.

Start the Parallels RAS Console

By default, the Parallels RAS Console is launched automatically after you click Finish on the last page of the installation wizard. To launch the console manually, navigate to Start > Apps > Parallels and click on Parallels Remote Application Server Console .

When the Parallels RAS Console is launched for the firsts time, you are presented with the Parallels Remote Application Server dialog where you need to specify the following information:

• Farm: A Parallels RAS farm to connect to. Enter the FQDN or IP address of the server where you have RAS Publishing Agent installed. If you've installed all core RAS components (Publishing Agent, Secure Client Gateway, etc.) on the same server, enter that server name or address. If you've installed all Parallels RAS components on the local server, you can enter "Localhost".
• Username: A user account with administrative privileges on the server where Parallels RAS is installed (usually a domain or local administrator). The account name must be specified using the UPN format (e.g. administrator@domain.local ). The specified user will be automatically configured as the Parallels Remote Application Server administrator with full access rights.
• Password: The user account password.
• If you select the Remember credentials option, this dialog will not be shown the next time you launch the Parallels RAS Console.

Click the Connect button to connect to the specified Parallels RAS farm.

Sign in to Parallels My Account

To activate Parallels RAS, you must register for a Parallels business account. After you logged in to Parallels RAS, you'll see the Sign In to Parallels My Account dialog. If you already have an account, type the email address and password you used to register the account and click Sign In .

If you don't have a Parallels business account, you can register for one as follows:

1. In the Sign In to Parallels My Account dialog, click Register . The Register Parallels My Account dialog opens.

   If you have an existing 2X Remote Application Server license and are upgrading to the new Parallels Remote Application Server, the Register Parallels My Account dialog will be prefilled with the information from your existing license. If you don't have an existing license (or if you've installed Parallels Remote Application Server on a new server), you need to fill in the registration information as described in the next step.

2. Enter your name and email address, choose and type a password, and enter your company info (all fields are required).
3. Click Register to register an account. This will create a personal account for yourself and a business account for your organization to which you will be assigned as administrator.

If you are upgrading an existing 2X license, the Migrating license key window will open and your license will be migrated to the new Parallels Remote Application Server format. When the migration is completed, your upgraded license key will be registered with Parallels My Account and your Parallels Remote Application Server will be activated.

If you don't have an existing 2X license, you should see the confirmation message saying that your account has been registered successfully. Click OK to close the message box. In the Sign In to Parallels My Account dialog, provide the email address and password and click Sign In . You'll see the Activate Product dialog.

Activate Parallels Remote Application Server

After you sign in to Parallels My Account, the Activate Product dialog opens asking you to activate the Parallels RAS farm.

If you already have a Parallels RAS license key, select the Activate using license key option and enter the key in the field provided. You can click the button next to the field to see the list of subscriptions and/or permanent license keys you have registered in Parallels My Account. If the list is empty, it means that you don't have any subscriptions or license keys and need to purchase one first.

Note: You can manage your Parallels RAS license using the Licensing category in the Parallels RAS console. The management tasks include viewing the license information, switching to a different Parallels My Account, and activating the Parallels RAS farm using a different license key. For more information, please see the Licensing section .

If you don't have a Parallels RAS subscription or license key, you have the following options:

• Purchase a subscription online by clicking the Purchase a license link.
• Activate Parallels RAS as a trial by selecting the Activate trial version option.

After entering a license key (or selecting to activate a trial version), click Activate . You should see a message that the Parallels RAS farm was activated successfully. Click OK to close the message box. The Parallels RAS Console opens where you can administer Parallels Remote Application Server.

The first dialog that you see informs you that you have no servers configured that can be used to host published resources. This means that to begin using Parallels RAS, you need at least one RD Session Host, VDI Host, or a Remote PC configured. We'll talk about configuring a Parallels RAS farm in the next chapter. For now, click OK to close the message box. You will then see the Applying Settings dialog. Wait for the initial configuration of Parallels RAS to complete and click OK . You will now see the main Parallels RAS Console window where you can begin configuring the Parallels RAS farm.

Read on to learn how to quickly add an RD Session Host, publish resources, and invite your users to Parallels RAS.